We’re baaaack! With AMC’s recent announcement that they’ve rescued The Killing from the land of the cancelled and have decided to push ahead with shooting a brand new third season, we thought it only fair that we should rescue these old posts from our archives as well.

Over the next few weeks we’ll try to get them all back into circulation. They start off slow, but three or four weeks into it, you’ll see that we get uber obsessed and start jotting down all of the details from both versions, detective style.

Whether you’re a newbie watching from the very start, or if you’re a dedicated fan that just needs a refresh, we’re sure that you find these posts valuable. Enjoy!

Is it just me or has The Killing gone off the rails? What started out as an amazing remake of an outstanding Danish television program has quickly turned into a sloppy mess of uninspired storytelling. With only four episodes remaining the show will need to cover a lot of ground quickly if it plans on revealing who killed Rosie Larsen this season.

Missed a post in this series? Play catch-up using the links below:

The Killing: The episode opens with Linden and Holder bringing in a professional translator to decipher Bennet’s call with Muhammad that was recorded during the illegal wiretap Holder setup after the FBI confiscated all of their case files. The translated exchange went:

Bennet: Muhammad, the police, they don’t know anything. But someone told the police about the room, they know about the girl.

Muhammad: What do we do Bennet?

Bennet: They won’t be able to find you. We just need to stay calm, okay?

Muhammad: Yeah (even though this is clear the translator feels the need to interject with: The other guy agrees.)

At this point Bennet switches to English so that his wife April, who is hanging around in the doorway, can overhear and understand a critical part of the conversation in order to advance the plot.

Holder thinks they’ve got a slam dunk when it comes to the evidence, but Linden isn’t so sure. She asks if they have the number of the incoming call to Bennet’s cell and Holder replies that the phone company said they need 24 hours to get it, but that they know that it’s Bennet on the wire. Linden tells some uniforms to get over to Bennet’s place and keep eyes on him until she’s ready to make the arrest. She then tells Holder to go see his judge friend from his narcotic days to have a warrant signed. Holder asks where Linden’s off to and she replies that she’s going to make sure that they dot their i’s and cross their t’s.

Linden exits the station and just as she reaches her car she receives a phone call from Mitch Larsen who apologies for snapping at her the other day. Mitch asks Linden if the police have arrested Bennet yet and in reply Linden promises her that it will all be over tonight.

Forbrydelsen: In episode seven the police legally wiretap Rama’s (Bennet) phone and record what appears to be an incriminating conversation between him and Mustafa Akkad (Muhammad). This conversation leads them to the mosque, and from there to the room in the warehouse where they believe Nanna (Rosie) was held by the two men.

The Killing: Mitch tells Stan that it’s over and that the police have arrested the teacher. Meanwhile, the mayor holds a press conference to announce that he believes that Richmond leaked the rumor that he is paying the rent on an apartment for a mistress which he supposedly has a child with. While watching the Mayor respond on TV Richmond is upset that he decided to lower himself to slander. In the middle of this, Linden arrives at the campaign headquarters and asks for the dates of all of Bennet’s appearances at the All-Star programs. Later, after the press conference, we see the mayor talking with his assistant about having his doctor back date and sign whatever medical records he’ll need along with doubling whatever they’re currently paying the mistress so she’ll keep her mouth shut. He wants the story to end now and he believes that Richmond’s campaign is sinking, so he wants a meeting setup to get his current allies to jump ship.

Forbrydelsen: There’s so much I’d like to say about the political campaign, but at this point it’s next to impossible to tell what would be a spoiler because The Killing refuses to advance the plot past Bennet being the main suspect. I will say this much, Troels Hartmann (Richmond) does not publically slander the mayor and so far Mayor Poul Bremer (Leslie Adams) has no side piece to speak of. In fact, remember how very early on in The Killing there was the ridiculous plot line where Jamie was “fired” for all of two days and then he joined the mayor’s campaign just long enough to learn that councilwoman Ruth Yitanis was the leak in Richmond’s campaign? Well in Forbrydelsn, through FOURTEEN episodes it still remains unclear who keeps leaking campaign information to Bremer (Adams). Because of this Hartmann’s (Richmond) campaign is continually one step behind. The mystery of the leak is integral to how the campaign plot threads are eventually tied back to the murder of Nanna Larsen (Rosie Larsen). Keeping the leak a secret for so long gives the viewer yet another clever mystery to puzzle over and keeps them engaged with the political storylines.

The Killing: Holder goes to see his judge friend Rusty who looks at the warrant and emergency wiretap and he refuses to sign it. He says he’s seen too many suspects railroaded by the Patriot Act and that he won’t sign off on sloppy police work. Holder tells Linden the bad news and the detectives are left with no choice other than to call off the arrest. The next morning the two detectives get chewed out by their boss for their actions. Meanwhile at the Ahmed household, when Bennet’s back is turned, Amber grabs his cell phone, finds Muhammad’s number and writes it down.

Forbrydelsen: There’s no illegal wiretapping so therefore there is also no friendly judge who refuses to sign off on sketchy paperwork. Lund and Meyer do get heat from their boss on several occasions, but Forbrydelsen is so well done when it comes to character development that if I were to mention more about their boss, believe it or not, I’d once again be entering into spoiler territory. As far as Rama’s (Bennet) wife is concerned, she does overhear part of the phone call, but doesn’t write down any phone number.

The Killing: Back at campaign headquarters Jamie and Gwen inform Richmond that the Greenlake mosque was defaced. Richmond visits the mosque to offer his support, but he’s turned away.

Forbrydelsen: No such plotline exists. The mosque only serves to lead detectives Lund (Linden) and Meyer (Holder) to suspect Mustafa Akkad (Muhammad).

The Killing: Mitch’s sister Terry shows up at the Larsen’s with some text books that belonged to Rosie. Mitch takes them and tells Terry that she’ll personally return them to the school. Inside one of them Mitch finds a paper that Rosie got an A on. Later, when arrives at the school, she sees Bennet entering the building and she realizes that Linden lied to her about it all being over.

Forbrydelsen: In episode eight, Pernille (Mitch) and Charlotte (Terry) drive to the school to return Nanna’s (Rosie) books. Charlotte (Terry) actually takes the books, but she accidentally leaves a copy of Macbeth behind. Pernille (Mitch) picks it up with the intention of bringing it into the school, but then freezes when she sees Rama (Bennet) entering the building.

The Killing: Bennet’s wife Amber calls police headquarters and asks for detective Sarah Linden, but then gets cold feet and hangs up. Later, she arrives at the station just after Linden and Holder find a scrap of paper with a note written on it in Rosie’s hand writing. Amber gives the detectives Muhammad’s phone number.

Forbrydelsen: Again, in episode seven the legal wiretapping of Rama’s (Bennet) phone leads the detectives to the mosque where they learn about Mustafa Akkad and his supposed whereabouts from Rama’s (Bennet) father.

The Killing: Bennet returns to work and is met with stunned stares from the other teachers in the lounge. The principal shows up to confront him about being there and he responds by telling her that he never agreed to take time off and that if she believes he’s done something wrong she should go ahead and fire him. Bennet then proceeds to his classroom where asks the students if they have any questions about the rumors that are circulating about him. When no one speaks up he asks them to open their text books to page 322. One by one the students get up and leave the room. The scene ends on a close up of Bennet with the word KILLER written in red on the board behind him.

Forbrydelsen: In episode eight, in a similar, but much more powerful and moving series of events, Rama (Bennet) returns to the class room and asks the students if any of them have any questions about the allegations being leveled against him. No one speaks up, so he begins his lesson on Karen Blixen. Lisa (Sterling) stands up to leave the class. He asks her where she is going and in return she spits a massive loogie in his face. One by one the rest of the class get up and walk out.

The Killing: Holder informs Linden that the phone company says the phone number Amber provided them with belongs to Muhammad Hammid. He hands her a DMV photo of the suspect from 2006. Apparently the phone’s GPS puts Mohammad at the downtown market. Mitch then shows up at headquarters to scold Linden for not arresting Bennet. Linden tells her that they’re moving on it soon and that they just need a little more time. Mitch then abruptly turns and leaves. Later, Linden and Holder stake out the downtown market with little success. Linden finally decides to ride the escalator up one level and call Muhammad’s phone. When he attempts to answer it she spots him in the crowd. She then rides the escalator back down and approaches him. Muhammad starts to run and she pursues him in what becomes one of the most hilarious and undramatic police chase scenes ever. Eventually they catch Muhammad and haul him into the station for questioning.

Forbrydelsen: In episode eight, Pernille (Mitch) goes directly to the station after seeing Rama (Bennet) at the school and Lund (Linden) informs her that they had to let him go because there just wasn’t enough evidence. Pernille (Mitch) explodes, angry at the fact that he’s walking around a free man after supposedly murdering her daughter. At the same time Meyer (Holder) and group of detectives catch Mustafa Akkad (Muhammad) after he stupidly returns to the warehouse to get some money. There is no chase scene, only an arrest.

The Killing: Gwen finds Richmond partaking in a drink at the local watering hole. She informs him that his campaign has lost the support of the machinists. He responds by telling her a story about his last night with his dead wife Lilly. Apparently they were at the governor’s ball together and he barely spoke all of three words to her the entire night. She left early, driving off alone to be struck by a drunk driver.

Forbrydelsen: After Hartmann (Richmond) cleans house within his own campaign and his own political party he works hard to form strong alliances which up to this point (episode fifteen) have remained intact. Hartmann’s (Richmond’s) wife died of cancer when she was six months pregnant with their first child. She was not killed by a drunk driver. This piece of information becomes crucial because it helps to explain the motivation behind a key event that could potentially be spoilerific for me to describe at this point.

The Killing: Stan arrives home to find Mitch crying. She tells him that the police let Bennet go. Stan is stunned. Mitch blames Stan, telling him that Bennet killed their child and he let him go when he had the chance to do something about it.

Forbrydelsen: In episode eight Pernille (Mitch) and Theis (Stan) have a confrontation in the kitchen. Theis (Stan) tells Pernille (Mitch) to be patient and let the police do their job. Mitch verbally assaults him about being a bad parent and he gladly returns the blows.

The Killing: Linden and Holder put enough pressure on Mohammad that he finally snaps. He tells the police that Rosie came by to return some books, but then left. It turns out the two men took the missing twelve-year-old girl from the mosque named Aisha and hid her so she wouldn’t fall victim to genital mutilation and be forced into an arranged marriage. The detectives order Muhammad to bring them to the girl. He complies. While at the apartment where Aisha is staying Linden receives a phone call that Bennet never returned home from work that day.

Forbrydelsen: In episode eight Mustafa (Muhammad) spills the beans that he and Rama (Bennet) moved a girl from Rama’s (Bennet) apartment to his garage to hide her from her family and the authorities. The girl, Leyla (Aisha) was a member of the mosque’s congregation who ran away from home to avoid an arranged marriage. Rama (Bennet) first hid her in the garage and then moved her to another location.

The Killing: Richmond goes to visit millionaire campaign contributor Tom Drexler to ask him for five million dollars to rebuild communities and store fronts and to repair the mosque. Drexler challenges him to make a basketball shot. If Richmond makes it, he gets the money and he gets to keep the ball. If he misses, he has to resign from the race. Just as Richmond is about to shoot the screen fades to black and the show cuts to commercial. Oh the drama! Later we see Richmond, with the ball, seated at his desk.

Forbrydelsen: There is no million dollar investor in Hartmann’s (Richmond) campaign.

The Killing: The episode ends with Stan and Belko taking Bennet to a secluded location near some train tracks to beat him mercilessly. While this is occurring Mitch, to her shock and horror, discovers the shirt she identified as Rosie’s from the crime scene photo, is actually nice and clean in her dryer. She calls Stan, but he doesn’t pick up because he’s too busy pummeling Bennet. Belko goes a little psycho in the background and starts punching a rock for some reason. As the screen fades to black its unclear if Bennet is still breathing.

Forbrydelsen: At the end of episode eight Vagn (Belko) and Theis (Stan) kidnap Rama (Bennet) and bring him to an old abandoned warehouse that the Larsen business used to use as storage. At the beginning of episode nine, Rama (Bennet) tries to tell Theis (Stan) the truth about Nanna (Rosie) stopping by his house that night and then leaving, and even goes so far as to call Leyla (Aisha) on his cellphone, begging her to tell Theis (Stan) how he helped her that night. Leyla (Aisha) gets scared and hangs up. Theis (Stan) then proceeds to beat the crap out of Rama (Bennet) with a lead pipe.

There you have it. What do you think about the current state of the investigation on The Killing? Are you still enjoying the show? As always, no spoilers please.

Aaron Westerman is the Manager of Web Architecture for a national human services organization. When he's not busy tearing sites apart and rebuilding them, he spends his ever shrinking free time trying to keep up with his twins, reading works of translated literature, and watching far too many Oscar nominated movies.